hi my daughter is 6 she has been wheezing, coughing and out of breath for months on and off. The doctor has now given her a blue pump and wants to "see how she goes"

Today she was on her scooter outside

After 15 mins she has come in visibly distressed unable to breath properly

I gave 2 puffs of the pump and a further 2 puffs as I didn't think she took it all. She seemed fine after a few minutes and told me her throat was so tight she couldn't breath, is this an asthma attack??

5 Replies

Asthma affects everyone slightly differently but that certainly sounds like an asthma attack I had when I was a kid (a bit older than your daughter)... we where doing pe in school and I was fine, then a bit breathless and then it felt like someone had there hands round my throat... which I managed to shift with my blue Inhaler after a few doses

It could be asthma, but breathlessness is a feature of many conditions, so the GP is right to see how she gets on. Maybe you need to check her inhaler technique, as gasping at it means the medicine shoots to the back of the throat and not into the lungs where it is needed. Used with the proper technique it looks for a while like a miracle cure! Ask your practice nurse, or look up inhaler technique on youtube. The painfully slow American version might irritate you, but it will give you the right idea.

It could be asthma. Does your daughter have a volumatic / spacer to take her inhaler with? I had one as a child (and have one now) to help me take my inhaler especially when I'm too out of breath to hold my breath, it aids in getting more of the ventolin or preventers too into the lungs than the back of the throat.

Usually to diagnose asthma she should also be doing a peak flow diary, it maybe something to ask the doctor about.

Its so hard when they are young because all they want to do is run around and have fun. I know when I was little it took me a long time to recognise my symptoms early on, but I always found it started with a slight catch in the back of my throat when I was breathing (like you get on a really cold day and you first step outside or when you've been running to the point of feeling ill) and then spread from there. I found if I took a little break when I felt that I could usually prevent the symptoms escalating but if they did ease quickly then I knew to go take inhaler before it got too bad.

Thanks for all your comments they are really helpful. I have booked her in with the Asthma nurse so hopefully she can check her technique and explain the symptoms and precautions. She is now using a spacer and yes it's much easier for her. I don't want to wrap her in cotton wool but it's worrying! Thanks again all

Sounds like asthma flare up if shewas short of breath. Blue inhaler opens up the airways so helped her breathing. Please get all the education about asthma so u are aware. She should hav a asthma care plan and a peak flow meter. Then she could blow into.the meter every day and see how her breathing is. If her number on the peak flow starts to fall then thats a warning that asthma is getting worse. Care plan should then tell u what to do. Please get a care plan from asthma nurse or gp. If ur daughter is young at school then a care plan and emergency medication shd be in school. Always carry blue inhaler with her incase u need it. When we understand asthma we feel more in control knowing what we hav to.do. wishing her health improves.